Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 2.2 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.2
Although my books have aroused in not a few men the desire not only to read but to write, yet I sometimes fear that what we term philosophy is distasteful to certain worthy gentlemen, and that they wonder that I devote so much time and attention to it. Now, as long as the state was administered by the men to whose care she had voluntarily entrusted herself, I devoted all my effort and thought to her. But when everything passed under the absolute control of a despot and there was no longer any room for statesmanship or authority of mine; and finally when I had lost the friends who had been associated with me in the task of serving the interests of the state, and who were men of the highest standing, I did not resign myself to grief, by which I should have been overwhelmed, had I not struggled against it; neither, on the other hand, did I surrender myself to a life of sensual pleasure unbecoming to a philosopher.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.2, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/2.2
Cicero, On Duties (De Officiis), tr. Walter Miller (Loeb, 1913). Text: Perseus Digital Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhen political life closed to him under a despot and he lost the friends he had worked with, the author refused both extremes: he did not collapse into grief and he did not retreat into mere pleasure. Instead he turned his energy toward philosophy and writing.
Older wording
- “despot”
- — an absolute ruler
- “statesmanship”
- — skill and leadership in public affairs
Themes and situations
- Adversity and hardship
- Resilience and endurance
- Grief and mourning
- Learning and progress
- A career setback
- Searching for meaning
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